Reform are clueless about the health of Britain's countryside

When it was put to him that the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, Richard Tice, Reform UK’s deputy leader, was blithe: “Why do you think the UK is one of the most nature-dependent places? You look at our countryside, look at the environment, it’s incredible. It’s absolutely remarkable.”

This wasn’t a genuine question from him. It was a rhetorical shrug – a refusal to engage with reality. But facts are stubborn things.

To offer a vision for Britain’s future, Reform must do more than sneer at environmental concerns

The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, whether Tice admits it or not. We have lost 97 per cent of our wildflower meadows in just a century. 87 per cent of our peatlands are degraded, dried out and now emitting tonnes of